Published: May 11, 2008 01:52 am         

Vikings get some payback

DANVILLE — Redemption and revenge are two powerful emotions in athletics.

Danville sophomore Blake Janesky felt both of them when his one-out single found a gap in the Normal Community defense, bringing home Brandon Jones and Logan Vance with the tying and winning runs in the Vikings 12-11 victory over Ironmen in eight innings.

Normal Community won the first game of the doubleheader 7-5, as it also went eight innings.

“We really felt like we should have won the first game,’’ Janesky admitted. “So to come back and get a win in the second game, was a little bit of revenge for us.

“It was also pretty important for us, because we haven’t been doing very well. This had definitely not been the peak of our season.’’

With the loss in the opener, the one that figures into the Big 12 standings, the Vikings had lost six of eight heading into the nightcap.

“A lot of things haven’t gone our way and there are a lot of things that we haven’t done that we need to do,’’ said Danville senior Ty Montgomery. “We were not making plays, not putting the ball in play and not swinging the bat well.

“It feels good to come out and get this win. This is good motivation going to the final week of the regular season.’’

The Ironmen (18-8 overall, 8-2 in the Big 12) took an 11-8 lead in the second game on a two-run single by Chad Hinshaw and a run-scoring hit by Chris Majercin.

Danville’s eighth-inning rally started with Jeremiah Hodges getting a bloop single to center and then leadoff hitter Chadd Snyder hit one back to the pitcher, Hinshaw, who threw the ball into center field.

That was the opening that the Vikings needed.

“It seems like we’ve had some tough luck recently,’’ Danville coach Gary Gritton said. “We’ve had games where we made just one mistake and it’s cost us a games.

“Today, maybe our baseball luck changed a little bit. They made a mistake and we made them pay for it.’’

Danville senior Brandon Jones walked to load the bases and Montgomery followed with a sacrifice fly, cutting Normal’s lead down to 11-9.

Logan Vance, who was 5-for-9 on the day, followed with a two-run bloop single to right and then Janesky delivered his game-winning hit.

“That was a really good inning for us and Blake had a really good at-bat,’’ Gritton said. “He just missed ending it a pitch or two earlier with a shot down the third-base line that was just foul.

“Instead of getting down about that, he kept battling and came back to get a big clutch hit.’’

The eighth-inning rally in the second game was fourth time on Saturday that Danville came from behind against Normal.

In the opener, the Vikings scored twice with two outs in the seventh on an Ironmen throwing error to send the game into extra innings.

“It’s nice to know that we can come from behind heading into the postseason, we’ve had some experience in coming back,’’ Gritton said. “Obviously, I would rather play with a lead, but this team has shown they have a little fight in them.

“We were extremely thin on pitching. We had to use Chris (Comrie) and Dennis (Forrest) in both games. It was nice to see us step up with some clutch hits and get the job done in game two.’’

Forrest wound up suffering the loss in the opener, as he allowed two runs in the eighth and he was credited with the win in the second game.

Montgomery was the starter in the first game for the Vikings.

He allowed five runs — only three earned — on seven hits and he struck out eight in six innings.

“I think Ty threw his best game today, and I know that sounds crazy considering he gave up five runs,’’ Gritton said. “But, his velocity was good and he was hitting good locations.

“It just seemed like Normal got a bunch of bloop hits off of him and that’s how they scored.’’

Danville will start the final week of the regular season with an intra-city rivalry contest against Schlarman on Monday.

First pitch at Danville Stadium is set for 4:30 p.m.